Christmas is Over

It was a quiet Christmas this year.  Gone are the big family Christmases of the past.  They diminished a little with the loss of my mother in 2005, but even a bit more when my father moved from the home we all gathered at.  Fortunately, we all still try to get together as much as we can for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It’s difficult, because two of my siblings live on the west coast.  I have a brother in Toronto, three siblings in Ottawa, my dad is in Napanee and I, of course, am in Cobourg.  We also have obligations with our spouses’ families as well, of course, but at least we try to get together.

It’s interesting, because there are eight kids in my family.  At least there were.  We lost our oldest brother to cancer five years ago.  Despite, or perhaps even because, six of us are adopted, we continue to keep in touch and try to get together when we can.

Back to Christmas.  I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that I wasn’t sure if my youngest daughter would be coming for Christmas because she works in the retail world and this is a very busy time for those folks.  She was given Christmas Eve off, so she came up that morning.  Kaitlyn had to be back for an early shift at Holt Renfrew on Boxing Day, so we had Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, opened gifts Christmas morning and then had leftovers for lunch before she took the afternoon train home to get ready for work the next morning.

Fortunately, my oldest daughter had come from the city last Monday and was able to stay until early Sunday morning.  That allowed us to do some baking together and enjoy Christmas together and she was even able to join us at Dad’s, where his girlfriend Sally prepared a lovely lunch and delicious dinner, despite being quite under the weather.  God love her.  My family members from Toronto and Ottawa were also able to join us for a lovely day in Napanee.

I now have a resting week that my MS has been begging for, for a while. I’m afraid that I need to give in a bit more these days, if I’m going to continue working.  But that’s okay.  It has now been 21 years that I have been aware of the MS and I am still upright.  It is quite a blessing, I know!

So, I pray that everyone had a great Christmas with family and friends and also pray that the New Year brings good health, joy and prosperity to all!